Sea Launch Co. successfully sent a communications satellite into orbit early Monday for Italy's armed forces and NATO from its floating launch platform in the equatorial Pacific.
The launch vehicle lifted off at 1:16 a.m. PDT (816 GMT), and the satellite's operator, Rome-based Telespazio, later received transmissions from orbit confirming the spacecraft was functioning, said a statement from the company, based in Long Beach.
The launch was "flawlessly executed," said Kjell Karlsen, president and general manager of Sea Launch.
The SICRAL 1B satellite, built for Telespazio by Europe's Thales Alenia Space, will provide communications services to the Italian Ministry of Defense, NATO and the European defense market, the statement said.
It is the 30th mission for Sea Launch, a partnership of Boeing Commercial Space Co., RSC-Energia of Russia, Aker ASA of Norway and SDO Yuzhnoye-PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine.
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